Date: February 25, 2004
To: The City Council and the Planning Commission
From: Doug Lyon
We have been discussing a regional park out in Grandview. It is certainly important that we have extensive park facilities in that area and we should not in any way diminish our efforts to get a wonderful park out in Grandview. However, Grandview is not the right location for Durango's primary park, for several reasons.
First, Durango needs a large park that is centrally located. The proposed location in the NE part of a Grandview would certainly be nice to have as a park, and would play an important role in the new Three Springs community. However, that location is not particularly convenient for the current residents of Durango. A regional park on Ewing Mesa would be more convenient for the current residents of Durango as well as the future residents of Ewing Mesa and Grandview due to its central location.
Second, Durango’s center of gravity may begin to shift out to Grandview if both Mercy hospital and the regional park are located there. That would be bad for the CBD and bad for Durango.
Third, it is difficult to cobble together a single coherent park from the many different landowners in Grandview. Ewing Mesa has one big landowner.
Fourth, Ewing Mesa is flat and the Grandview is not. In addition, the land that has been set aside for a park in Grandview has high-tension power lines and natural gas wells on it.
Fifth, the Ewing Mesa development will have a more profitable housing mix than Grandview that is better able to support the cost of the park.
Financing the Regional Park
We must provide financial incentives sufficient to induce voluntary cooperation by the developer. The profitability of large development projects such as that proposed for Ewing Mesa is quite sensitive to relatively minor changes in zoning and land use. For instance, a relatively small expansion of the golf course area and the construction of additional highly profitable golf course homes would help to compensate the developer for the land allocated to the park.
In addition, the simultaneous development of both Grandview and Ewing Mesa allows the City of Durango to coordinate the development plans to the benefit of both the Grandview and Ewing Mesa developers, as well as the citizens of Durango. For instance, there might be some way to use transferable development rights originating on Ewing Mesa and landing on Grandview.
Other financing methods for the regional park will become clear through study and public discussion. It is also clear that the acquisition of a well-located regional park will never be more cost-effective. On the contrary, if the city of Durango is to ever have a centrally located regional park, then now is the time to act.
An Efficient Use for the Rim of Ewing Mesa
We must locate the regional park in a manner that meets the needs of Durango's current and future residents as well as makes efficient use of the developer's land. A park located along the rim of Ewing Mesa would be relatively convenient for residents of what may be termed "current Durango," future residents of Ewing Mesa and Grandview, and importantly, the Central Business District.
The land directly along the rim of Ewing Mesa is not suitable for building for a number of reasons. First, Durango won’t allow ridgeline development. Therefore, there is some available land right along the edge of the mesa that can’t be used for building. Also, preserving views is a development priority for Ewing Mesa. Hence, the developer will not be permitted to build houses near the edge of the rim even if they are not technically on the ridgeline if they block the views of too many other homes. Thus, a regional park that utilizes undevelopable rim acreage will be larger than the buildable acreage that the developer will give up. Therefore, locating the regional park along the rim of Ewing Mesa is an efficient use of land. There may also be significant tax advantages to donating land along the rim to the regional park.
The regional park and the economic vitality of the CBD and the proposed
Riverfront Cultural District
There has been a great deal of talk lately about enhancing the vitality of downtown Durango, and even creating a beautiful Riverfront Cultural District. The success of both of these projects is heavily dependent on a steady stream of visitors, shoppers, and diners. A regional park conveniently located on Ewing Mesa will help to provide customers to the CBD and the Riverfront Cultural District, thereby enhancing the financial viability of both projects. Thus, the people and City of Durango have a substantial financial stake in the acquisition of a regional park.
The youth soccer association in Durango hosts soccer tournaments that have up to 130 teams, and frequently turns teams away due to lack of playing fields. Sports tournaments generate a substantial amount of the tourist related revenue upon which Durango is dependent. A regional park located in relatively close proximity to the Central Business District would deliver "tournament tourists" and their dollars to the Central Business District and the proposed Riverfront Cultural District. A regional park in Grandview would encourage "tournament tourists" to stay, eat, and shop in Three Springs.
A regional park on Ewing Mesa would also be an outstanding location for an outdoor performance structure. The park itself would provide space for lawn seating so the structure itself would not need to be huge – perhaps it would be just a covered stage and backstage. Hence, the ballfields would have a dual use. Shakespeare festival on the lawn…The Durango Bluegrass Meltdown…. the possibilities are endless. If the people of Durango so choose, Durango could become a strong competitor for the summer festival business with an in-town, but stunningly beautiful location like Ewing Mesa. Of course, this is not something that would happen overnight, but if Durango is to have the option of doing it in the future this is the one chance to acquire the land.
Finally, traffic and parking are matters of increasing concern in Durango. A park on Ewing Mesa rather than in Grandview may reduce traffic flows in the 160/550 corridor, particularly in the troublesome Farmington Hill area. In addition, it may one day be feasible to build a gondola that runs from Ewing Mesa and even Grandview to the Central Business District. A gondola would be both more convenient than bus service (and therefore much more frequently used) and more "green" in its operation. According to a recent City of Durango study, it costs approximately $9,000 to build one parking space in the City of Durango. The use of the parking lot for the regional park as a "park and ride" location may save the city many millions of dollars that would otherwise be needed to build a multi-hundred vehicle parking structure in downtown Durango. It would also permit valuable downtown Durango real estate to be used for more productive purposes. The cost of constructing the gondola may thus be mitigated to some extent by the costs of building a parking structure in downtown Durango. It is also critical to remember that a gondola used in this manner would be a bona fide mass transit system and may therefore qualify for federal matching funds.
A big park in Grandview will be a wonderful community amenity for the Three Springs development and we should make sure that we get one. However, the current and future residents of Durango need and deserve more. We will never have this chance again. New York City’s Central Park sits on 843 acres in central Manhattan, some of the most valuable real estate in the world. Despite the enormous value of that land, it will never be developed. We need to show similar courage and vision. Thank you.
I welcome your comments.
Doug Lyon
247-8221
lyon_d@fortlewis.edu